Today we woke early as we had secured tickets to tour the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. The palace grounds can only be entered on guided tours that are held by the imperial household agency, they are free and take about one hour although booking prior online is paramount. The palace used to be the residence of the Japanese imperial family before the capital was shifted to Tokyo in 1868. It is situated within the beautiful imperial park in the heart of Kyoto and is also home to the Sento imperial palace and a few other buildings.

We walked the three kilometres and arrived just before ten, we went to get our tickets and met the tour in the grounds. We were on the English tour with approximately forty others. The lady guide was very friendly and had very good English... She was a pleasure to listen to. She took us around the palace and grounds. The Imperial Palace was burnt down (as is most places of importance here) and reconstructed in 1855. The complex is large and and houses many buildings, halls and gardens. You are unable to enter the buildings but you can see them from the outside as the doors are opened. we saw the palaces main hall where the enthronement ceremonies if Emperors Taisho and Showa were held although the present Emperors ceremony took place in Tokyo.

After the tour despite the sun shining we were feeling a tad chilly so headed to a McCafe for a cup of warm tea. Plus Steven wanted to try the famous Mega Mac which is fundamentally a Big Mac with four burgers. We sat there for a while warming up then headed back out in the direction of the Nishijin textile centre which is a mall museum that still makes fabrics and silks and invites visitors to watch the process and buy souvenirs. While we were there they had a fashion show illustrating the stunning fabric and beautiful kimono. They were stunning. We had a look around and found some lovely souvenirs for Bianca and Edd who we were seeing for the weekend in Hong Kong.

After the textile centre we headed up towards the north where we would be having our cooking class. We were meeting Taro at three pm so thought we would explore the Shimogamo shrine nearby. We had heard great things about it so thought it was worth a look. We found the place and wandered in... It seemed nice and very much like other shrines but not as big or impressive as we thought... Until we were leaving and passed the map illustrating the complex. Turns out we had found a tiny corner of the complex and there was a huge palace type structure about a kilometre away haha... How we missed it don't know, anyway it was too late now so we left.

We headed to the bus stop where we were meeting Taro for our cooking lesson and sat down. He had sent us such good directions including photos and maps. We were waiting for the buses as assumed that there would be a few people coming. The class holds six and he had been pretty full all week, the class is run by Taro a local Japanese man and his wife and adorable daughter. He worked as a professional chef for two years before becoming a guesthouse manager, now he teaches people how to cook local Japanese food. He met us at the bus stop and explained that in fact it was just the two of us ...he was originally planning on having a day off but was happy to accommodate us.

We walked the five minutes to his house which was located in a quiet street nearby, on route we introduced ourselves and chatted about our time in Japan. We arrived at his lovely warm house and he invited us to his lounge and told us to make ourselves comfortable. We sat down and he prepared some fresh green tea and wheat crackers and then sat down and went through the basics of Japanese cookery. He showed us the recipes we were going to cook and answered all our inquisitive questions. He then went through Kobe beef as there are so many misconceptions over this famous and delicious meat.

Apparently Kobe beef is often mis sold abroad as the most expensive and tasty beef around when in fact it is not actually sold out of Japan (except till recently as they now sell Kobe beef in Hong Kong and Macau). Any Japanese beef eaten else where is simply Japanese beef and not Kobe beef. Although Kobe beef still comes from this category of Japanese beef it is only the top 3000 cattle that are given the label of Kobe beef. The cattle are examined for the finest marbling and quality if meet and then given the accolade. The reason you can only get Kobe beef in Japan is simply because it is in high enough demand here and the supply is so small.

For meat to be given the accolade of Kobe beef it much be grazed on a small area near Kobe. It's parents must have also been grazed there and their grand parents. They are a certain pure breed of Japanese cow as are their ancestors. When you buy a piece of Kibe beef you are given a certificate with a number and then you can put this number into the official Kobe website and then you are shown all the information on the cow. You are given the name, date of birth, family tree and everything... It's mad! Also we have a certificate with the cows nose print on it.

We washed our hands and put on our aprons and then began cooking. Firstly we began by making a dashi stock....This is a basic stock that is used in all aspects of Japanese cooking. It is made by simmering sea weed in water for about thirty mins before removing and adding dried fish flakes. This is then the dashi... And the base of miso soup. We then went on to make the miso soup and then a Japanese omelette. We also made several side dishes before Taro cooked the Kobe beef... He offered us the chance but we politely declined and thought it was wise to allow him to do it. We asked him many questions about japan and his cuisine and questioned him on sake, he answered all our questions and even allowed us to sample some fruit wine and such.

After about ninety mins of cooking and chatting with Taro and his family we sat down to eat. The food looked delicious and it was nice to know we had helped him create this wonderful meal. The first thing we tried was the Kobe beef which looked mouth watering... It was cooked lightly in Kobe beef dripping and garlic with a hint of pepper and a little salt. I have to say and not just because of the hype surrounding the meat but it seriously is the most delicious beef I have tasted. It literally melted in our mouths and tasted incredible. The dripping gave it such an incredible taste and their was no chewiness at all just melting meat. It's crazy to think a piece the size of ours would cost about eighty five pounds in a restaurant. We ate slowly and chatted to Taro and his wife about Japan then chatted with his daughter a little although she was having a bit of a tantrum lol... If looks could kill. She did come out of it though and we parted on good terms lol.

Taro and his wife were lovely and we really enjoyed the afternoon, we felt like we were visiting old friends and they invited us to pop in for coffee if we are ever in the area. I thought the lesson would be enjoyable but in truth I absolutely loved it and it was definitely a highlight of the trip. Taro gave me one of his inventions... A small oil brush that ensures you don't use too much when cooking. I hadn't stopped saying how cool it was throughout the lesson not realising he had invented it and it was a very sweet gesture.

After saying our good byes we left and swapped details promising to entertain them if they we ever in the UK. We then took a slow walk home talking about our amazing day. We were sadly leaving Japan tomorrow so decided to get some beers and enjoy our final night... We sat with Anders (an American guy we were friendly with) and drank beer chatting and telling jokes. It was a really nice end to a lovely day... And an even better trip.